Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle 1956

When my son Charlie called the other night to say he’d been cast as Alfred P. Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, my thoughts naturally flew to Stanley Holloway and My Fair Lady and “Get Me to the Church on Time.”  That’s because I’ve never seen Pygmalion. 

There is no doubt in my mind, though, that Charlie is perfect for the role.  Years ago, long before he took up this second career as an actor, he spontaneously regaled a group of us with his Eliza Doolittle monologue – the one that begins:  My aunt died of influenza: so they said.  But it’s my belief they done the old woman in.

‘None but the Lonely Heart’ Poster 1944

 It was the night before Nyel and I; as new owners, re-opened the Bookvendor.  We were hosting an all-night work party painting walls and rearranging books preparatory to our Grand Opening on January 2, 1992.  Charlie entertained us non-stop and, as I remember, his rendition of Eliza, his Cockney accent was letter perfect.  He’s always been good with accents.

(I want to take a little diversion here which has not a thing to do with Charlie or Pygmalion but a lot to do with those who are native speakers of the Cockney dialect.  Over the years there has developed an entire language called Cockney Rhyming Slang.  Words are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word – for instance, ‘bread and honey’ rhymes with money so bread becomes the substitute word for money.  There are thousands of these terms with more being developed all the time.  Many, like “bread” have entered mainstream English, though most people have little idea how they originated.  End of diversion,)

:Alfie: Poster 1966

I asked Charlie about his audition piece for this play and he said he had learned one of Alfred P. Doolittle’s monologues.  Also, he had reviewed his Cockney by looking at a couple of very early Carey Grant films.  “By the time he was doing American films,” Charlie said, “he had pretty much lost the accent.  He had his ‘haitches’ under control, but you could hear the Cockney in the vowels.”  Cary Grant!!  Who knew?

But now that the part is his, Charlie is getting down to serious study.  Although Carey Grant was from England and used a Cockney accent in two of his early films, he was not born in London.  Michael Caine was, however, and what’s more, he was from exactly the right part of London – within “the sound of the Bow bells” meaning the bells of St. Mary le Bow church in London’s East End.  So, in his free time, Charlie is watching Alfie.

Rehearsals began last night.  I’m looking forward to hearing when the play opens and how long it will run.  I don’t think we can get down to Los Angeles to see it, but I have several friends in the area who I hope will go and report back.